Mobility dog?

[kaika_dragon]

My friend needs help training his dog as a mobility SD.  He has a large, friendly pit bull, who is very friendly and smart but untrained.  I have told him that he needs to train it to pass a CGC test first, but what are some good training programs for afterward?  Getting a new dog is not an option, Julius seems suitable, and has already saved my friends life once. Any help?

[cazza03]

Train the dog to normal well behaved pet...sit, drop, stay and come, with heel too. Get the dog used to wearing a vest that says 'Service Dog in Training' and just keep expanding on what the dog knows.
When the dog and your friend are ready, try the CGC. If the dog fails one part, you know what you should be working on!

[state_of_nowhere]

I think your friend should enlist the help of a professional trainer. Mobility work is very hard on a dog's joints, especially if not done correctly. The dog should be a certain age and should have xrays done first to ensure the dog is even a proper service dog candidate health-wise.

The dog should also be temperament tested by a professional trainer too. Service work is very demanding and if the dog will be accompanying him out in public, its temperament should be solid.

It is not very common to have a dog already and then make it into a service dog, especially with no advanced dog training skills. Your friend is looking at a very high failure rate.

I would suggest your friend join the forum, if possible, and research mobility service dogs himself. Perhaps you can help him apply for a program dog or seek out a professional trainer to help him.

[Roxie]

Like state says - OT dogs have high wash-out rates. Your friend should check us out!

Question: with the breed bans honestly: where do the banned breeds stand as SD's??? There are breed bans in the darndest places of towns around here with populations less than 2,000 people and they don't know about SD's in the first place!

Roxie

[kaika_dragon]

A little more info- My friend has Lupus, and can currently walk with a cane, although he needs help on stairs. However, he is likely to get worse, and wants to be independent as long as possible, hence a mobility dog.  He is on a low budget, he needs to OT, or get a very low cost trainer.  There are no breed bans were we live, and he's not likely to travel.  If Julius has an appropriate temperment, there is no way he is getting a different dog.  This dog has already saved his life by getting his wife when it found him collapsed on the floor bleeding and unresponsive.  Really, I'm trying to figure out what  resources there are to help him once they are done with basic obedience, etc.  If you know of any place that would help, please tell me.  As a sidenote, if his dog isn't right for the job, he will be kept as an ESA, not made to do mobility work. He needs basic obedience anyway, though.

[Spectrum]

A CGC is just the very basics. It does not mean a dog is ready for public access. Training to "pet dog" standars does not mean you can slap a cape on a dog and call it a service dog.

Depending on what type of mobility work is needed, a pit may be too short for the job. What sort of mobility tasks is your friend looking for?

I agree that a health check and temperament test are in order before anything else.

[kaika_dragon]

I know a CGC is just basics, thats why I'm trying to find out how he can get help with the advanced stuff when they're ready. Also, my friend is very short, and his pit bull is VERY big for his breed. Does that answer you guys questions alright?

[Fiona]

The place I inquired with about training my Mimi as a SD gave me a list of basic skills she needed to master before they would even consider her as a student was practically verbatim the list on the AKC CGC page. They would train her regardless, but the cost is much higher if they needed to cover those basics as well as the SD work. It also shows them a commitment from the owner so it is a good starting place when converting a pet to a SD!

[Roxie]

I am still not convinced about this Pit Bull making it a SD thing.

What tasks does the guy need done that he can't do for himself?

Just because a dog can be trained to pass a CGC does NOT mean it has the temperament to be a Service Dog.

Just because the dog is his master's best friend and he loves the dog, doesn't mean the dog has what it takes to be a SD.

Roxie

[kaika_dragon]

Yeah, I know that Julius might not work as a SD, they need to get his temperment evaluated first.  As for tasks, Lional cannot get up from a chair on his own, or climb stairs.  He is also pretty much certain to get worse and eventually be in a wheelchair.  As it is, I don't think he can bend over without getting very dizzy, either.  He likes animals very much, and his dog is currently an ESA, but a SD could help him out a lot, and allow him to be independent much longer.

P.S.
Julius may be a pit bull, but he loves people, and seems to be very intelligent, too.

[Roxie]

I guess the first thing to find out is the guy disabled under ADA law. Not every diagnoses or "can't do some things" constitutes a disability and public access with a SD.

He might just have to wait until he is disabled so he knows what tasks need to be trained that he can't do for himself. Possibly even wait and select a SD breed or mix that would help him best.

Now, he can train his dog to do anything under the sun in his house... even get him a beer and a bag of chips or go get the mail and a pack of cigarettes. The guy doesn't even have to be disabled to have a dog - cat - horse or what ever do that!!! In the privacy of his home he could use a Guppie for a Service Creature if he chose.

Maybe Lionel should join the group! Kinda hard helping people learn and decide things... if they aren't the ones asking  and reading.

Roxie

[kaika_dragon]

Yeah, sorry, I don't think they have internet. Anyway, he does count as disabled, he already checked.  There's a lot of things that a SD trained for public access could help him with right now, too, at home and in public.  I should know, I was helping him make the task list.   It doesn't really matter right now though, b/c their dog should get basic training anyways, whether or not he's gonna be an SD.